Washing machine for rugs, carpets, etc.



p 1932- B. F. BEHRINGER WASHING MACHINE FOR BUGS, CARPETS, ETC

Filed May 4, 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet l INYENTOR Br g 21 mlzBenlgel;

Sept. 13, 1932. B. F.-BEHR|NGER 1,877,156

WASHING MACHINE FOR BUGS, CARPETS, ETC

Filed May 4. 1929 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 lNV ENTOR ,Beu ammz mirage) ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 13, 1932 BE111114115111Iv BE I-IBINGER, OF WESTYGALDWELL, NEW JERSEY WASHING MACHINE FOR noes, oanrn'rs ETC.

hp plication' filed Ma re, 1929. Serial No. 360,405.

its action, and which is of' such character that the rug or the like desired to be cleansed may be fed into one end of the machine' so as to be progressively moved therethro'ugh subject to the cleansing operations, and then finally discharged therefrom in thoroughly cleansed condition as a continuous operation. The invention has for a further object to provide a washing machine for the purposes indicated, the cleansing functions of which are rapidly accomplished so as to provide a machine capable of performing a maximum quantity of work in a given time. p The invention has for another objectto provide a rug and carpet'washing machine of such novel construction and mode of operation that the cleansing functions thereof are carried on without the aid of brushes or similar friction devices, whereby risk of damage I to the rugs or the like is substantially eliminated, but wherein the cleansing effects are obtained by high pressuresprays of cleaning fluid, which, in the course of movement of therug or the like through the machine, contact with the entire area of the rug or carpet so as to dislodge dirt and grit, soften and; wash away grease, and'thoroughly wash out the pile, nap or other texture thereof. v

Q th'er objects of this invention, not at this time more particularly enumerated will be clearly understood from the following de; tailed description of the same. 7

An illustrative embodiment of this invention is shown inthe accompanying drawings,

in which a Fig. 1 is a vertical cross section through the washing machine made according to and embodying the principles of this invention;- Fig. 2 is a fragmentary end elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a rear side elevation viewed in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a detail'view showing the arrangement of the spray pipe and its nozzles whereby the cleaning fluid is applied to the work passed through the machine; and Fig. 5 is a View of aspray pipe nozzle in part section.

Similar characters of reference are employed in all of the hereinabove described views, toindicate corresponding parts.

Referring now to the drawings, the machine comprises a suitable frame-work including the uprights 6 and 7 laterally spaced apart at each end of the machine. J ournaled in bearings 8 carriedjon the uprights 6 is a shaft 9 upon which is fixed a main feed roller '10. Also journaled in bearings 11 carried on the uprights 6 is a shaft 12 upon which isv fixed an auxiliary feed roller 13 extendin above but cooperating with said main fee roll er.l0. h f Arranged onthe receiving side of the feed rollerslO and 13 is a receiving platform 1 1., This platform l is preferably inclined upwardly-fromthe floor 15 on which the ma 1 STATES PATENT err-ICE chine is mounted to a point contiguous to and preferably slightly below the bite of said feed rollers 10 and 13. v

Arranged on the discharging side of the feed rollers 10 and 13 is a discharging platform 16. This platform 16 is preferably in- =cli1'1ed downwardly from a point contiguous 'to. andpreferably slightly below the bite of said feed rollers 10 and 13'to the floor 15 on which the machine is mounted.

Journaled in bearings 17 carried on the up-.

rights? is a shaft 18 on which is fixed the lower wringerfroller 19. The discharging platform 16 is provided with an opening 20 through which the top face of. saidlower wringer roller 19 projects, so that'the' same lies above the'surface of said discharging platform 16. Journaled in bearings 21, also carried on said uprights 7 is a shaft 22 upon which is fixed a top wringer roller 23. Suflicient play is provided in the bearing supports of the top wringer roller haft' 22 to permit of downward movement of the same toward the lower wringer roller 19, under the influence of yieldable pressure exerting means to be presently described.

Any suitable arrangement of power transmission means may be provided for rotating 1 the main feed roller 10 and the wringer roll.-.

and arrangement of such power transmission means, I have shown the shaft 18 of the lower wringer roller 19 provided with a sprocket wheel 24 over which runs a drive chain 25 which may be operated from any suitable source of power. Also fixed on said shaft 18 is a drive sprocket 26, and in like manner fixed on said main'feed roller shaft 9 is a driven sprocket 27. Running over and between said sprockets 26 and 27 is a drive chain 28, whereby power to rotate said main feed roller 10 is transmitted from the rotated wringer roller shaft 18. The upper wringer roller 23 may be power driven in a direction opposite to the rotation of the lower wringer roller 19 by intermeshing gears 29 and 30 respectively fixed on said lower wringer roller shaft 18 and said upper wringer roller shaft 22.

' The means for exerting pressure on said upper wringer roller 23 to yieldably press the same toward the wringer roller 19, may comprise any suitable spring actuated pressure exerting devices. Illustrative of one possible arrangement of such pressure exerting means, I have shown secured to the uprights 7, for extension therebetween, channel beams providing vertically spaced flanges 31. Arranged beneath said channel beams, at suitably spaced intervals, are bearing yokes 32, each carrying a pair of pressure rollers 33 adapted to bear upon the top face of said upper wringer roller 23. Each bearing yoke 32 is provided with upwardly projecting posts 34 vertically slidable in openings provided for their reception in the channel beam flanges 31. Said posts 34 are provided with stops 35, and arranged between the undersides of the upper of said channel beam flanges 31 compression of the springs 36 will exert a yieldable downward thrust upon the bearing yokes 32, whereby. the pressure rollers 33 will bear yieldingly downward on the top wringer roller 23, thereby constantly pressing the latter toward the lower wringer roller 19, so that the work passed between said rollers 19 and 23 will be squeezed therebetween, not onlyso as to move the work out of the machine but, at the same time, so as to squeeze out the fluid which has been taken up by the work while subjected to the cleansing operations.

Mounted within the machine adjacent to the discharge side of the feed rollers 10-13 and substantially parallel thereto, but upwardly spaced from the discharging platform 16, is a spray-pipe 37. Tapped into said spray-pipe 37, at suitably spaced intervals throughout the length thereof, are dis charge branches 38 having adjusting valves 39 in the line thereof. Each branch 38 terminates in a spray-nozzle 40 which is directed toward the surface of a rug or carpet R, as the latter is fed into the machine by the feed rollers 10--13. The said spray-nozzles 40 are. of a construction adapted to produce a divergent liquid spray, and the nozzles are relatively spaced so that the sprays discharged thereby will contact and cover the entire lateral surface of a rug or carpet moving beneath the same, in the manner indicated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. In Fig. 5 I have shown a form of spray-nozzle which has proven very satis factory in operation, and which is adapted to produce the divergent spray desired; the same comprising a casing 41 having nozzle tip 42 attached to its lower end and shaped internally to provide the inwardly and downwardly tapered passage 43 forming the discharge orifice Supported within said casing is a fixed axial stem 44 having extending around the same spiral fins 45 producing intermediate said stem and the sides of thecasing 41 spiral passages leading toward the discharge orifice of the nozzle passage. Said stem 44 is supported by a central hub 46 carried by radial arms 47 extending to the walls of the casing 41, so that the fluid entering the nozzle may flow between the arms 47 into the spiral passages defined by the fins 45. In operation the fluid discharging through the nozzle thus constructed is given a whirling mo vement, as it flows through the spiral passages. and consequently is caused to spread on emerging from the nozzle tip to form an inverted conical spray, in the manner indicated in Fig. 4.

In the operation of the machine a suitable heated cleansing fluid is supplied under pres sure to the spray pipe .37 and its nozzles 40. This cleansing fluid may consist of a soap and water solution or a liquid solution made up of any desired character of ingredients suitable for the purpose. Illustrative of the method of supplying the cleansing fluid to the spray pipe 37, I have shown a reservoir 48 supported by a framework 49 adjacent to the machine, said reservoir being adapted to hold a supply of cleansing fluid. Connecting said reservoir with the spray pipe 37 is a delivery pipe 50. Connected in the line of said delivery pipe 50 is a pump 51 of any desired type suitable to force the cleansing fiuid under a considerable pressure to and through the spray pipe 37. Also provided in the line of said delivery pipe. 50 is a manipulatable control valve 52 for shutting off at will the fiow of cleansing fluid to the spray pipe. It is desirable to utilize the cleansing fluid in heated condition, and to raise the same to desired temperature a heater 53.. preferably of the gas burner type, is provided to heat the supply of fluid in the reservoir 48. It will; be understood that the arrangement of reservoir, heater, and pump is subject to considerable variation in construction and arrangement, both as to these elements per se and as to their relation one to the other; While I have shown these elements mounted adjacent to-the machine, 1t will be understood that it is equally within the intended scope of this invention that the same be remotely located relative to the machine, and merely connected with the spray pipe of the latter by the delivery pipe extended between them. It is also possible to provide a heating coil in the line of the delivery pipe at some point intermediate the pump and the spray pipe of the machine, so

that instead of heating the entire volume of spray pipe having suitable discharge,

nozzles 56 spaced at intervals throughout the length thereof. These discharge nozzles may be of the same type as the cleansing fluid nozzles 40 above described, if desired. A rinse Water delivery pipe 57 leading from any suitable source of supply conveys the rinse water to the spray pipe 55. Thedischarging platform 16 is provided with a drain opening 58 aligned beneath said rinse water spray pipe 55, the same being preferably covered by a perforate plate or screen 59. Arranged beneath the drain opening 58 is a catch basin 60 in Which may be caught the drained water and cleansing fluid, so that the same may be carried away to a suitable place of dischargeby the drain pipe'6l leading from said catch basin 60.

In the operation of the machine, a rug R to be washed is laid out face up on the receiving platform 14, and its forward end is inserted in the bite of the rotating feed rollers 1018, whereby the same isdrawn into the machine and fed down over the discharging platform 16 toward the wringer rollers l923. rollers 1013, it passes beneath the sprays of cleansing fluid discharged fromthe spray nozzles 40. Preferably the spray nozzles are set at such angle that the axis of the sprays discharged therefrom are approximately at right angles to the face plane of the rug R, as the latter is supported by the discharging platform 16. Since the cleansing fluid is discharged through the spray nozzles 40 under considerable pressure, the spray streams forcefully impact upon the pile or texture of the rug R, thereby'very efliciently penetrating the fibres or filaments so as to quickly dislodge dirt and grit and washthe same or cold as may be desired.

As the rug emerges from the feed,

away. Furthermore, since the cleansing fluid is delivered from the spray nozzles at a comparatively high temperature, the heatthereof supplementing the force of the imi pact of the spray streams operates to quickly and efficiently loosen and remove greasy ac cumulations and soluble stains from the rugtexture. Owing to' the fact that the spray streams discharged from the spray nozzles are made up of a plurality of minute streams which are directed against the mov-' ing surface of the rug, said streams produce a brushing effect tending to easily penetrate the pile or texture of the rug, and yet without the harshness or tearing tendency incident to the bristle action of actual brush elements, and consequently there is substantially no risk of loosening, breaking or tearing away the fibers or filaments making up the pile 0r texture of the rug. This is a distinct advantage, readily appreciable when the machine is utilized to cleanse comparatively delicate rug and carpet textures.

As the rug R passes beyond the'spray streams, it'moves' beneath the rinse water sprays, so that the same is thoroughly rinsed and the surplus cleansing fluid washed away therefrom. The rinse water may be warm 'After passingthe rinse water, the rug R is engaged by the bite of the wringer rollers 19-28, which being yieldably pressed together, serve to squeeze out'the greater part of the absorbed rinse water, While at the same time operating to propel the rug onward and .out of the machine.

subject to the above described cleansing operations. One passage of the rug or carpet through the machine is ordinarily sufficient to effect a thorough washing of the same, although, if desired or itappears necessary, the rug may run through a second or even a third time.

After the rug emerges from the machine, it may-betaken and suspended in a. suitable dry room, to dry out the moisture remaining therein, by Which the cleansing operations are completed.

It will be obvious from the above descrip tion that this invention provides a machine of great simplicity and yet one capable of effecting a very thorough washing of rugs, carpets, or other materials in a comparatively rapid manner and without risk of injury to the textures thereof.

It will be understood that many changes could be made in the above'described construction and many apparently Widely difier- 'ent embodiments of this invention could be sequently it is intendedthat all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

What is claimed is 1. In a rug cleaning machine, a pair of driven feed rollers and a pair of driven wringer rollers, the latter being spaced in a plane below the plane of the former, a downwardly inclined supporting platform extending between said feed and wringer rollers so pitched as to permit gravity to aid said feed rollers in delivering a rug to engagement by 5 said wringer rollers, a cleansing solution spray pipe disposed rearwardly of and sub stant-ially parallel to said feed rollers, said spray pipe having a plurality of nozzles spaced along its length adapted to discharge forceful whirling sprays of cleansing solution directly upon the rug issuing from said feed rollers with both penetrating and brushing eflect thereupon, and a rinse water spray pipe disposed forwardly of and substantially a parallel to said wringer rollers.

2. In a rug cleaning machine, a pair of driven feed rollers and a pair of driven wringer rollers, the latter being spaced in a plane below the plane of the former, a downao wardly inclined supporting platform extendbetween said feed and wringer rollers so pitched as to permit gravity to aid said feed rollers in delivering a rug to engagement by said wringer rollers, a cleansing solution 5 spray pipe disposed rearwardly ofvand substantially parallel to said feed rollers, said spray pipe having a plurality of nozzles spaced along its length adapted to discharge forceful whirling sprays of cleansing solu- 40 tion directly upon the rug issuing from said feed rollers with both penetrating and brushing effect thereupon, and a rinse water spray pipe disposed forwardly of and substantially parallel to said wringer rollers, said support- 45 ing platform having a perforate section aligned beneath said rinse water spray pipe, and a catch-basin beneath said platform.

In testimony, that I claim the invention set forth above I have hereunto set my hand this 2nd day of May, 1929.

BENJAMIN F. BEHRINGER. 

